Croatia is a beautiful country, with a huge variety of terrain, mountains, woodland, forests, stunning waterfalls, azure seas, crystal clear Adriatic waters, a haven for sailing. It is also overrun with tourists in July and August, but now it seems also in the so-called off season. There is no way now to avoid crowds, but driving and being able to get off the beaten path really helped.
We have found the trip to Croatia more expensive than a month in Japan this time last year. This was surprising.
With northern Europeans now avoiding Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia, Greece, Armenia, Morocco and the immigrant situation on many borders in the Balkans, tourists are flocking here. Mark tell us when he traveled this coast in 1974, it was cheap as borsht. Those days are long gone, like Yugoslavia.
We saw few Canadian and US travellers. They are probably all on the cruise boats and travel in groups in the cities. We saw many, many Asian travellers, also in shoals and droves - although individual travellers from Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, Japan seem to venture out alone now.
The mayor of Dubrovnik has declared their intention of somehow limiting tourists in the city and this would be good. I could not recommend tourists to go there now, but we know people who have enjoyed it this year. It is a jewel of a city no doubt, with interesting historical buildings and rich cultural heritage. It is nice to sit on the boulevard for a coffee but at $10 a pop, we can live without it. The hand is out for every little thing, and what seems a good deal turns out to be really rather shoddy and sub standard.
We found the smaller historic walled cities much more attractive and welcoming, with restauranteurs bending over backwards to bring you in, offer free liqueurs after dinner, etc. without a cover charge. And I believe the northern and southern Dalmation islands have a lot to offer, even though we only experienced one of them for 3 days.
There are no sandy beaches, beaches are all pebbles. But crystal clear water even where many boats are parked, is the norm.
Even small towns charge to park.
The coastal area and islands definitely look to close down mid October until May. Services are slim to non existent then.
We are told Croatians tend to take holiday after the other tourists have left in October.
Twenty years later, signs and memories of the 'homeland war' are still apparent. Although we saw very few veiled women anywhere in Croatia, the Bosnian presence is there, but resented in places. There are a few shells lodged in historic building walls, left as a memory of what transpired. Croatia and Hungary are still being castigated by the EU for non-aceptance of their share of immigrants, so this may change.
The people we met everywhere were gracious, hospitable, welcoming and friendly. There were absolutely no security or safety issues anywhere, day or night.
We have found the trip to Croatia more expensive than a month in Japan this time last year. This was surprising.
With northern Europeans now avoiding Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia, Greece, Armenia, Morocco and the immigrant situation on many borders in the Balkans, tourists are flocking here. Mark tell us when he traveled this coast in 1974, it was cheap as borsht. Those days are long gone, like Yugoslavia.
We saw few Canadian and US travellers. They are probably all on the cruise boats and travel in groups in the cities. We saw many, many Asian travellers, also in shoals and droves - although individual travellers from Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, Japan seem to venture out alone now.
The mayor of Dubrovnik has declared their intention of somehow limiting tourists in the city and this would be good. I could not recommend tourists to go there now, but we know people who have enjoyed it this year. It is a jewel of a city no doubt, with interesting historical buildings and rich cultural heritage. It is nice to sit on the boulevard for a coffee but at $10 a pop, we can live without it. The hand is out for every little thing, and what seems a good deal turns out to be really rather shoddy and sub standard.
We found the smaller historic walled cities much more attractive and welcoming, with restauranteurs bending over backwards to bring you in, offer free liqueurs after dinner, etc. without a cover charge. And I believe the northern and southern Dalmation islands have a lot to offer, even though we only experienced one of them for 3 days.
There are no sandy beaches, beaches are all pebbles. But crystal clear water even where many boats are parked, is the norm.
Even small towns charge to park.
The coastal area and islands definitely look to close down mid October until May. Services are slim to non existent then.
We are told Croatians tend to take holiday after the other tourists have left in October.
Twenty years later, signs and memories of the 'homeland war' are still apparent. Although we saw very few veiled women anywhere in Croatia, the Bosnian presence is there, but resented in places. There are a few shells lodged in historic building walls, left as a memory of what transpired. Croatia and Hungary are still being castigated by the EU for non-aceptance of their share of immigrants, so this may change.
The people we met everywhere were gracious, hospitable, welcoming and friendly. There were absolutely no security or safety issues anywhere, day or night.
